Higher Ground
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Second in the Thicker than Water series. Lux thought a birthday exploring the caves of Peru would be fun... Mentions of Faberry.


**Higher Ground**

Lux climbed slowly, carefully, toward the light. His entire body ached, and he was pretty sure there was something wrong with his foot. His hands were numb, but he kept climbing. His family was counting on him.

Some rocks slid from under him, and he clung desperately to an outcrop of boulder, praying another slide wouldn't start. They didn't have enough space as it was. He was only meters away from the small hole now. He struggled on, amazed at how quickly his vacation had taken a turn for the worse.

* * *

_Lux opened his eyes, feeling someone gently stroking his hair. He smiled over at his brother, Braxton, who was sitting in the airplane seat next to him. "Morning," he muttered sleepily._

"_They're bringing the breakfast trolley around," Braxton said, nodding to the flight attendant. "I think I heard her say we have a choice of a breakfast quesadilla with fruit and salsa, or a sausage, egg and cheese croissant with yogurt."_

_Lux raised his seat and look back at his mom and "aunt". Quinn was Braxton's mom, and she was married to Rachel. But all of the kids in their family called each other brother and sister, because it was just too complicated otherwise. His birth parents were actually Finn and Sugar, but Santana had adopted him. They all lived together in a big mansion, along with the Changs, the Evans-Joneses, the Puckermans, the Karofskys, and Kurt, and the practice of what the media called "child swapping" had been a thing forever. _

"_Mom?" he said quietly, glancing around. He'd been very careful to be quiet and respectful, since they'd gotten a few dirty looks when they got on. Probably something about being able to sit in first class. "Can I have -" He broke off, smiling, when Santana handed him his pill box. "Thank you." He opened the Monday hatch and grabbed the two pills, then handed the box back to his mother. _

_Tomorrow was his birthday - at exactly 9:15 in the morning, he'd be turning eleven. And he'd be turning eleven while exploring the caves of Peru. He'd wanted to go ever since his mom's first article on the country for National Geographic. He'd never been able to go with her on her international trips, but she'd agreed last year to take him somewhere for his birthday. And now they were on their way to Peru!_

_The flight attendant came around and served them both their meals. Braxton inhaled his, as per usual, but Lux took his time. He played with his puzzle game on his DS while he ate, daydreaming about what they'd find while they explored the caves…._

* * *

He was closer, but he was shaking. They'd been trapped for...well, he wasn't sure how long. And Braxton was hurt. He had to make it out. But as he got closer to the opening, he saw that it wasn't a trick of the light, where the hole only looked small because of how far away you were. The hole actually was small, and he was going to have to shift some rocks around. He was scared. If there was another slide…. His mom and Quinn couldn't lift Braxton, even together, and even though they'd be able to move farther down the cave, his brother had still been unconscious when he left. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He sat perfectly still for about a minute, just breathing in and out. Then he opened his eyes, and looked at the rocks and the small opening.

He hesitated, then reached out and picked up a smaller rock on the right side. Even though it was one of the smallest, it was still heavy, and he grunted with the effort of moving it from his hunched position. He stacked it a few feet below on top of a flat stretch of boulder, and chose another one. After about three, he probably could have wiggled out of the hole, but he kept going. If he wiggled wrong, the entire thing might come down on him.

* * *

"_Welcome!"_

_Lux smiled brightly as a man, the tour guide probably, walked over to greet them. _

_He shook Santana's and Quinn's hands, and then turned to the boys. "My name is Reynaldo; I'm the organizer here. Well, we've got a few treats in store for you!" His English was perfect, but he had a heavy accent. "If you'll follow me, we'll get you to the visitor center. _

_They were shown into the main foyer of the hotel and Lux wandered around while his mom got them checked in. _

"_It feels weird, right?" Braxton asked, following him around to the couches. "Staying in a fancy hotel when we're going to be roughing it during the day…."_

_Lux shrugged. "I want to go cave diving, not camping. I like the hotel!"_

Lux squirmed out into the bright sunlight and lay panting on the mound of rocks for a moment. He pulled the map out of his pocket, stood up, and looked around. The rockslide had nearly sealed them in, but if he could get over the pile, he could take the path straight back to the ranger's station.

He climbed carefully onto the rocks again. It took about fifteen minutes for him to go a total of six feet, because any time he felt himself slipping, he would stop dead. He didn't want to sent any more rocks tumbling into the cave. Finally, he reached the path again. He took a few deep breaths, and sprinted (actually, hobbled quickly) back down the trail.

* * *

_The camera went off again with a sound that was a lot like "snicket". Braxton and Lux had been playing near the underground lake, but were now seated next to Quinn while Santana finished up her pictures. _

"_Okay," she said finally. "You guys see everything you wanted in this cave?"_

"_I'm good!" Braxton said. _

"_Yeah," Lux agreed. "Can we take a few more pictures at the entrance though?"_

"_Sure. Let's go." _

_They packed up their gear and walked back toward the cave mouth. They were about fifty yards from the entrance when Santana shot out a hand to stop them. They all heard it then, a low rumble. And then they felt the ground start to shake. _

"_Rockslide, run!" Santana said. _

_They began running up the path, but stopped and turned back as rocks came rolling into the cave. Lux cried out and dropped as a rock rolled across his foot. The path seemed to be getting skinnier as well. Dirt and pebbles were spraying in. _

"_Mom!"_

_He and Santana turned to see Braxton push Quinn out of the way. A rock hit him on the side of the head, and he went down immediately. Then, as suddenly as it started, it was over. They sat in the deafening silence of the cave, breathing hard. _

"_Lux? Lux are you okay?" Santana asked, switching on the lamp on her helmet. _

"_My foot hurts, but I'm alright. Is Braxton okay?"_

_They both crawled over to where Quinn was sitting next to her son. _

"_Q, you're bleeding," Santana said softly. She shone the light around their immediate area, and spotted the first aid kit only slightly buried in the rubble. _

"_He's not waking up," Quinn said. _

"_Just don't move him."_

_Lux wrapped his foot with a strip of bandage from the box, wincing a little. "Mom look! I can see a way out."_

_Both Santana and Quinn looked up to where Lux was pointing. They were still about forty yards away, and the path was steep and narrow because of the loose rocks. Quinn shook her head at Santana. _

"_It's too dangerous," she said. _

"_We need help, Q. Braxton needs help. The only other way out of here is for experienced rock climbers. There's no way Lux can do it by himself, and you need me here in case we have to try to move Braxton. Lux?"_

"_I can do it," he said. _

"_Let me see your foot first." _

_He grimaced as she unwrapped it. It was bruised, and slightly swollen, but there wasn't a break. "It's okay," he assured her. "I can do this."_

_She stared at him for a long moment, then rewrapped his foot and kissed his forehead. "Okay. Be careful. Here's the map. You stick to the path if you can."_

"_I will," he promised. He stood at the bottom of the rubble for a moment, testing a few rocks to see which was the firmest path. Then he started to climb. _

* * *

It would've taken an hour to get down there, the way Lux was hobbling, but luckily the rescue team was already out. He ran into them after just twenty minutes, but it took another five for him to calm down enough to convey what happened. Funny how your brain won't cooperate in a crisis….

Finally, when he'd told them what all had happened, they wrapped him in a blanket and stuck him in the front of a Jeep and drove him back down to the hotel.

"Hey wait!"

"You'll be in the way," the woman driving said. She spoke English the best, and had volunteered to take him back to the hotel. "The team will find your family."

He sat shivering as they drove. When they got closer to the hotel, he saw paramedics standing by. They wasted no time in checking him over when they pulled up. He fought to stay facing the road, and waited to see the rest of the rescue trucks coming back.

* * *

Santana had cleaned the blood from Braxton's head as much as she could. They didn't want to use too much water in case...in case…. Anyway, there was a lot of bruising, but the cut was actually above his eye and it wasn't deep. The rock, from the look of things, had struck him on the side of his face, just in front of the ear.

"He must have cut himself when he fell," Quinn said.

"It doesn't look as bad as I thought," she said. "He's going to be okay."

"Yeah...always knew he had a hard head," Quinn said, smiling slightly. "We should save the light. Just in case…." She trailed off, but didn't really need to continue. They were both thinking it. Save light and water and medical supplies, just in case anything happens and Lux doesn't make it back.

Quinn shrugged her jacket off and wrapped it around Braxton.

"Q, you need that," Santana said softly.

"He needs it more."

"Then come here." She unzipped her own jacket and let Quinn snuggle up. "Rachel's going to kill me when we get home, we don't need to add frostbite to her list of Ire Bringers."

Quinn chuckled a little. "How long has it been since Lux got out?"

"I don't know...twenty minutes, maybe thirty? I don't know - my watch cracked."

They were quiet and still for a long moment.

"Well...we'll see if Tiger Scouts is a waste of money or not," Quinn said finally.

Santana smiled. Then she jumped, hearing a groan. "Quinn, he's awake!"

Both women rushed over and each put a hand on his chest immediately to stop him from sitting up. Santana turned on the flashlight and looked him over. His eyes were fluttering open. When he finally focused, he looked at both of them and asked,

"Why am I on the floor?" he asked. "And...where on the floor am I?" he added, eyes darting around the cave.

"How much do you remember?" Quinn asked.

"I...remember checking into the hotel. I remember going to dinner with Reynaldo. I remember fighting over the TV with Lux…. Where's Lux?"

"Is that all you remember?"

"Yes. Where's Lux?"

"He went to get help," Santana explained. "We were exploring the caves today, and there was a rockslide. You got hit on the head."

He tried to struggle to a sitting position, but fell back immediately, groaning.

"Honey," Quinn said. "You have a concussion. You have to be still."

"Think...I'm going...to puke…."

There was a low rumble that made all of them panic, and then a flash of light, and then another one. Santana turned toward the opening to the cave. She held up the flashlight and clicked it on and off twice.

"Santana?" It was Reynaldo, their tour organizer. "We're here! Lux is safe, and we'll get you out."

* * *

Lux opened his eyes and squinted in the bright light. Then he glared at his doctor. "When did you move me?"

The man just smiled and said something in Spanish.

Lux recognized the words "safe" and "hospital", but nothing else. "Donde esta mi familia?" Again, he recognized "safe" and "hospital". "They're here? Uh...aqui?"

"Lux!"

"Mom!"

Santana was wheeled in in a wheelchair. She smiled brightly when she saw him, and thanked his doctor. "How are you feeling? They had to sedate you because you flipped out a little."

"I'm fine," he said. "Sleepy. Where's -"

"Quinn is fine, and so is Braxton."

"But he got hit! With a rock!"

"Calm down," she said gently. "Yes, he did. And it looks sort of awful, but he's going to be okay. He has a bad concussion and doesn't really remember any of yesterday, but he's going to be okay."

Lux sighed and relaxed back into the bed. "Mom?"

"What's up, buddy?"

"Next year for my birthday? I just want to go to Olive Garden."


End file.
